Milne leaving county job early

Patti Milne will resign as a Marion County commissioner with eight months left in her term to focus on her bid for the Oregon Senate seat held by Democrat Peter Courtney of Salem.

Milne, a Republican from Woodburn, passed up a fifth-term bid to run for the Senate District 11 seat. The district extends from Salem north to Woodburn. Courtney has held the seat since 1999, when Milne became a commissioner. Courtney also has been president of the Oregon Senate since 2003.

Milne said her last day as a commissioner will be April 21, a month before the May 20 primary.

Milne’s open Position 1 seat is sought by state Rep. Kevin Cameron of Salem, a Republican, and Salem City Councilor Diana Dickey, a Democrat. Each is unopposed in party primaries.

Milne’s position for the final eight months of the term will be filled by appointment. Marion County Republicans may nominate three to five candidates, and the other two commissioners will decide the interim appointee. If the commissioners do not appoint someone within 30 days of the vacancy, the appointment would fall to Democrat Gov. John Kitzhaber, who can choose any Republican, not just those nominated by the party central committee.

Marion County Republicans could include Cameron among their nominees for the interim appointment, and the other commissioners — both Republicans — could appoint him.

Milne is opposed in the Republican primary for the Senate seat by Tom Chereck Jr. of Salem, a plant care technician who has run three times for the House District 22 seat, which is part of Senate District 11. Chereck was the Republican nominee for the House seat in 2008, but lost in the 2010 and 2012 primaries. Milne was in the Oregon House from 1993 to 1999.

Courtney is unopposed for nomination to a fifth Senate term. He also spent 14 years in the House.